"Nothing you wear is more important than your smile."
"What's happening here?" A familiar, deep voice boomed. Gasps were the only voices heard. Ava could hear the footstep coming closer. She only looked up to find Mr. What's-Your-Name.
"What's the problem, Emma?" Lorenzo asked the lady, who now became more nervous.
"S-Sir, she doesn't want to wear the outfit given to the waitress." Emma stuttered.
Lorenzo shifted his eyes from Emma to the other person. That's when he noticed it was Ava. He was surprised that she started working from today itself.
But he became confused by the look on Ava's face. He noticed that Ava looked extremely uncomfortable in the new environment. He kept watching her for almost a month but never saw this much discomfort and irritation on her facial features. Even when she was fired from the job, she remained calm. And weirdly, Ava's discomfort was bothering him.
"Everyone get out." Lorenzo said, not taking his eyes off Ava. Ava returned his stare by glaring back at him.
"Emma, shut the door before going out." Lorenzo said, as Emma quickly followed his command.
Now it was Ava's turn to panic. Her father used to lock her inside with him and beat her up. Her hands were shaking, and she started breathing heavily. She tried to remain calm, as she didn't want to show her panic-stricken state to the man in front of her.
Lorenzo noticed her condition and immediately realized that she was hyperventilating. He decided to keep his distance and sat on a nearby chair, staring at her intently.
"Now... You can tell me the exact reason why you don't want to wear the uniform." Lorenzo asked her in his deep voice, emphasizing each and every word.
Ava laughed humorlessly. "Why do you think I'll tell you my problems? I would never do that, even if you were the last person in the world." Ava said while glaring at him.
"You would definitely not want to disobey your boss, Miss Ava." Lorenzo warned, daring her to defy his words.
She was surprised by his declaration. She raised an eyebrow but immediately put on a blank face, trying not to act surprised. She mentally smacked herself after realising he was the one who gave her this job, so there was a high probability that he would be the owner of this place. She decided to convince him to change her uniform.
"It's a personal problem." Ava said hesitantly.
"All the 75 other waitresses wear the same clothing, but I've never received any such 'personal problem' complaint from any of them." Lorenzo made a mocking remark.
"But I have a problem, Mr." She replied, slightly pissed off.
"It doesn't really matter to me. You either wear it or quit the job." Lorenzo stated, firmly.
Ava decided to try her luck and tell him the problem. "It's quite revealing, plus I don't want to show my skin to some random people here." Ava said, not meeting his eyes. Though it was not the exact reason, it was still half the truth.
Lorenzo assumed that Ava was either a conservative girl or some childish troublemaker. He was silent for a while, and then he spoke up.
"Okay, then wear something inside the dress," he said before adding, "But the uniform should be on display."
Ava smiled cheerfully and said, "Thank you!!" Lorenzo was frozen by her smile. This was the first time he saw Ava's smile, except for those fake smiles she gave him at the cafeteria. Her smile could melt millions of hearts. Ava stopped smiling after realizing that Lorenzo was still staring at her. Her smile turned into a blank look as she stared back at him.
"Then go," Lorenzo said.
"Huh?"
"Go and choose any dress for the closet. You'll wear it only after I see and approve it."
Ava huffed and started walking towards the closet while mimicking him inaudibly, "After I see and approve it."
Lorenzo heard her. "Come fast. I don't have all day for you." He spoke, to which Ava turned to face him, rolled her eyes, and went inside the closet.
"Spoiled brat," Lorenzo said while looking at the disappearing figure.
Ava searched into the closet and found that no proper clothes were present there. She at last found a plain white full-sleeve crop top. She wore it, and luckily, it fit her perfectly. On top of that, she wore the same red bodycon, sleeveless uniform. It reached just above her knees.
Ava felt uncomfortable showing her legs, so she decided to wear white knee-length socks and a white 2-inch heel sandal. She looked at herself in the mirror for the last time before coming out of the closet. She noticed Lorenzo was still sitting on the chair.
Hearing the closet door open, Lorenzo looked up. He inspected Ava's uniform and was impressed by her dressing sense. The red dress fit her perfectly, like it was just made for her. While he was still lost in thoughts, Ava cleared her throat. He looked up, and their eyes met. There was an unspoken silence between both of them before Lorenzo decided to break it.
"This will do." Lorenzo said so in a professional manner, to which Ava just nodded. He waited for her to say something, but she opted for silence.
Lorenzo walked out of the room. The staff came in and started doing Ava's makeup and hairstyle. She wondered why any restaurant would treat the waitresses as models. Emma guided Ava towards the counter and gave her instructions related to work.
As there were few customers, Ava was able to manage them. The work was much less when compared to her previous job. She wondered how much her pay would be. She didn't ask Lorenzo about it yet, as she didn't want him to assume that she was desperate for money.
After working for almost 3 hours, Emma came and told Ava that she could go home. Ava took her bag and started walking to her house. The sky had almost turned dark, and she never went out of her house this late. But that was not the problem for her. She was fearless, as she knew she could handle the worst people, all thanks to her father's training. She never had a problem getting trained by her father, but the methods he adopted were the worst.
Being engrossed in thoughts, she reached her home, freshened herself up and went to bed, still sulking at the fact that she had to go to college tomorrow. Her final exams were about to start in a week. She must concentrate on her studies in order to score good grades.